News briefs from around the state

Police say woman fatally shot by accident

PHILADELPHIA -- Police are investigating the death of a woman allegedly shot accidentally during an argument between two men in northeast Philadelphia.

A police spokeswoman said officers were called to the Kensington address shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday.

Neighbors told arriving officers that two men were arguing and a 28-year-old man fired a shot, striking his own 22-year-old girlfriend in the neck.

She was taken to Episcopal Hospital by private auto and was pronounced dead shortly after 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Her name is not being released.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said one man was taken in for questioning. Police said the other man was gone by the time officers arrived.

3 bystanders wounded in plaza gunfight

EDGEWOOD -- Police are investigating a gunfight at a Pittsburgh-area shopping plaza that left three people wounded.

It happened late Saturday afternoon at the Edgewood Towne Centre.

Edgewood police said two men started shooting at each other, wounding three bystanders.

The victims were taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported one man was in fair condition Saturday night after undergoing surgery for a stomach wound. Another man and a woman suffered leg wounds.

Police are still looking for the gunmen.

Fire kills elderly man

CANONSBURG -- Authorities in western Pennsylvania said an elderly man pulled from a home after an early morning fire has died.

Emergency dispatchers in Washington County said the blaze in the Peters Township home was reported shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday.

Officials said one person was able to escape but another was trapped inside.

Firefighters managed to bring the flames under control and rescue the victim about 15 minutes later, but he was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Canonsburg General Hospital.

The Washington County Coroner's Office identified the victim as 80-year-old Robert McLaughlin. The cause and manner of death are pending.

Officials investigate fatal ultralight aircraft crash

SMOKETOWN -- Authorities in central Pennsylvania said the crash of an ultralight aircraft shortly after takeoff that killed the pilot may have been because of a too-steep ascent.

Officials in Lancaster County said the aircraft took off from Smoketown Airport shortly after 5:45 p.m. Saturday but went down about 100 yards away.

Police in East Lampeter Township said Sunday that the aircraft crashed into an unoccupied mobile home that was being dismantled on the site of an auto repair garage.

The pilot, 30-year-old Michael Blank, of Gap, was killed. He was the only person in the aircraft.

Officer Nathan Westerman said investigators believe that the aircraft ascended too rapidly and stalled in midair, leading to the crash.

Police: Pedestrian fatally struck

PITTSBURGH -- Homicide detectives in Pittsburgh are investigating the death of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle.

Investigators said the person was hit late Saturday morning and pronounced dead at a hospital.

Authorities said the driver left the scene but called 911 from a nearby location. The driver was interviewed by detectives.